Robert Ho Hung-ngai, a celebrated Hong Kong journalist, philanthropist and avowed Buddhist, has died at the age of 93.
A notice posted on the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation’s website said that Ho died peacefully on November 30 in Vancouver, Canada.
A separate obituary in Canadian media reported that a private funeral would be held, with Buddhist prayer services scheduled for December 16.
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Born in Hong Kong in 1932 to one of the city’s pre-eminent “first-generation” merchant families, Ho was the grandson of prominent businessman and philanthropist Robert Ho Tung, who was known as “the grand old man of Hong Kong”.
During World War II, Ho spent several years in southwestern China before returning to Hong Kong to complete secondary school studies. He later earned degrees in the United States from Colgate University and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
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While always involved in various businesses, Ho found his true calling in journalism. During his time in the US, he worked for the Pittsburgh Press in Pennsylvania and later with National Geographic.
Upon returning to Hong Kong, he joined Kung Sheung Daily News, a Chinese-language newspaper owned by his late grandfather.